Preformed bottle closure



De 5, 1962' v G. H. MANGRAVITE 3,070,251

PREFORMED BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Feb. 28, 1961 l/VV'N 7019 660 965 64 m/m/M W72? United States Patent 3,070,251 Patented Dec. 25, 1962 ice 3,070,251 PREFGRMED BOTTLE CLGSURE George H. Mangravite, Lynbrook, N.Y., assignor to Twin Trees Gardens Inc., Lynbrook, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 92,360 6 Claims. (Cl. 21548) This invention relates to closures for bottles or jars and has for an object to provide a removable closure, which can be readily secured in place in the neck opening of a bottle or jar and which securely seals the same but can be readily removed and replaced as required.

Another object is to provide a closure of the above type which is neat and pleasing in appearance and is economical to manufacture and install on a commercial scale.

Another object is to provide a sitter type closure which can be readily applied to a bottle or jar and which includes a removable stopper adapted to close the sifter openings, the closure and stopper having new and improved means to securely lock the elements in place.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The invention comprises in general a preformed fitment of plastic or the like which is molded or cast in one piece and includes a cylindrical wall fitting into the neck opening of the bottle, a bottom closure wall and outwardly extending flanges at its upper end which fit over the top rim of the bottle neck. The fitment is formed with an external bead fitting into an annular groove in the bottle neck to secure the fitment in place when inserted in the bottle.

A stopper is designed to fit within the bore of the cylindrical fitment wall for sealing the contents of the bottle and is secured in place by one or more bosses on the stopper fitting into bayonet grooves in the inner cylindrical surface of the fitment.

The feature of the invention will be better understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which a specificembodiment has been shown for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a bottle neck with the lower portion of the bottle broken away showing the closure in place;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken along the line 2-4. of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the fitment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a two piece stopper according to FIGS. 1 to 3; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a one piece stopper illus-' trating a further embodiment of the invention;

Referring to the drawings more in detail the invention is shown as applied to a closure for the neck opening 10 of a bottle or jar 11 having a neck wall 12 terminating in a rim 13.

The fitment comprises a tapered cylindrical wall 15 having an integral bottom wall 16 formed with perforations 17. The cylindrical wall 15 is formed at the upper end with a rim housing comprising a top wall 18 and a downwardly extending skirt 19 adapted to fit snugly around the upper part of the rim 13 of the bottle. The cylindrical wall 15 fits tightly within the neck opening of the bottle and is formed with an annular bead 20 on its outer surface fitting into an annular groove 21 in the neck of the bottle. The fitment is preferably formed of a plastic such as polyethylene or the like having stiffness and resilience such that it can be pushed into place in the bottle neck to cause the bead 2% to snap in place in the groove 21 and will have sufficient rigidity to lock the fitment permanently in place.

A stopper 25 is shaped to fit within the cylindrical bore of the fitment and to form a closure therefor. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 the stopper 25 comprises a core member 26 having a top flange 27 seating on the top wall 18 of the fitment and having a lower outer annular recess 28 providing a slot to receive a finger nail or tool for loosening the stopper. The core member 26 above described may be made of glass or other rigid material.

In the embodiment shown the core member 26 includes an outer cylindrical surface 29 having at its lower edge a bead 3t) over which is snapped a bead 31 of a liner 32 composed of a flexible material such as polyethylene and having a bottom wall 33 extending across the bottom of the stopper and an upwardly extending skirt 34- extending along the cylindrical surface 29 of the core member 26. The liner 32 is made relatively stiff but with suflicient resilience to permit the same to be snapped into place over the core member and to be permanently secured by the interlocking beads 30 and 31. The skirt 34 is shaped to fit within the wall 15 of the fitment and has suflicient resilience to form therewith a tight seal.

The outer surface of the skirt 34 is shown as provided with a pair of bosses 35 registering with axial grooves 37 in the inner surface of the fitment and terminating in horizontal grooves 38 so that the stopper 9.5 can be locked in place by pushing the same axially with the bosses 35 in the grooves 37 and turning the same clockwise to lock the bosses in the grooves 33.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 the stopper 25a is shown as of one piece construction and comprises a core 49 having an outer surface 41 shaped to fit within the wall 15' of the fitment and having bosses 42 corresponding to the bosses 35 of FIG. 5. The stopper 35a includes a handle portion 43 to facilitate removal, although this stopper may if desired be formed with an outwardly extending flange similar to the flange 27 of FIG. 5. Conversely the stopper 25 of FIG. 5 may be provided with a handle portion similar to the handle 43 of FIG. 6. In either case the stopper forms a removable closure for the fitment.

While the bottom closure wall 16 of the fitment has been shown as having perforations to form a sitter closure it is obvious that for dispensing purposes the bottom wall may be made imperforate or with weakened spots to be pushed out by the consumer after first removing the stopper. The fitment thus forms a seal for the contents of the bottle for shipment and storage while the stopper forms a reclosable seal for dispensing purposes.

The grooves 37 and 38 have been shown in the form of a bayonet slot for locking the stopper in place. They may however be formed as a spiral or thread to permit the stopper to be inserted and secured by turning the same as in the case of a screw top bottle.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure for a bottle or the like having a substantially cylindrical neck wall forming a neck opening and terminating in a rim comprising a preformed fitment having a substantially cylindrical wall fitting tightly into the cylindrical neck of said bottle and permanently secured therein, said fitment wall having an outwardly extending a flange fitting over the rim of said bottle neck and having at its lower end an end wall closing said neck opening, a removable stopper fitting within said cylindrical wall of said fitment and a cooperating boss and bayonet groove on said stopper and said cylindrical fitment wall adapted to removably secure said stopper in place in said fitment.

2. A reclosable closure for an open neck container having a substantially cylindrical neck wall forming a neck opening and terminating in a rim, comprising a preformed fitment composed of molded plastic material and having a cylindrical wall fitting tightly within said neck wall, an end closure wall at its lower end and an outwardly extending flange at its upper end fitting over said rim, said closure wall being perforable for dispensing the contents of said container, said neck wall having an annular groove, said fitment having an outer bead adapted to fit into said groove to permanently secure said fitment in place in said neck wall, and a removable stopper fitting into said fitment, the inner cylindrical wall of said fitment having a locking groove therein and a boss on said stopper fitting into said groove to secure said stopper in place, said last groove having longitudinal and transverse portions adapted to receive said stopper and to secure the same in response to a limited turning movement thereof and to release said stopper in response to a reverse turning movement thereof.

3. In combination with a bottle having a cylindrical wall terminating in a top rim and having an annular groove, a preformed fitment composed of molded plastic material having a cylindrical wall fitting tightly into said neck wall and having on its outer surface a bead fitting into said neck groove to permanently lock said fitment in place, said fitment having a perforable bottom closure wall and an upper flange seating over said rim, and a stopper fitting into said fitment to form a removable closure, said fitment having a bayonet locking groove in its inner surface and a boss on said stopper fitting into said last groove to removably lock said stopper in place in said fitment.

4. In combination with a container having a cylindrical neck wall terminating in an annular rim, said neck wall having an annular groove therein, a preformed fitment composed of molded plastic material having a cylindrical wall fitting tightly within said neck wall and having an external bead adapted to snap into said groove to hold said fitment permanently in place, said fitment having a perforable bottom closure wall and an upper flange extending over the top of said rim and terminating in a skirt fitting around the outer surface of said neck wall, the inner surface of said cylindrical fitment wall having an L-shaped groove extending from the top end thereof, and a removable stopper fitting within said fitment and having an external boss adapted to slide in said last groove when said stopper is inserted in said fitment for removably locking said stopper in place, said stopper having at its upper end an outward flange seating upon the top surface of said fitment above the neck rim, said flange having an annular recess on its lower surface to provide for the insertion of a tool for removing said stopper.

5. A reclosable closure as set forth in claim 2 in which said stopper comprises a core of rigid material and a liner composed of said molded plastic material engaging the fitment wall, said molded plastic material providing resilience suited to obtain a tight seal between the stopper and the fitment.

6. A reclosable closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fitment is composed of polyethylene and said stopper is composed of a glass core having a polyethylene liner therearound in contact with the polyethylene wall of said fitment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 422,934 Gunkle Mar. 11, 1890 1,316,723 Kammer Sept. 23, 1919 2,696,319 Menefee Dec. 7, 1954 2,866,572 Llewhellin Dec. 30, 1958 2,978,133 Huck Apr. 4, 1961 

